Mariam Joseph Bundala

This project aims to develop a detailed habitat reconstruction for hominins living during the Middle Pleistocene using phytolith remains from Isimila and upper Manyara Beds in Tanzania. These deposits have substantial archaeological records and significant potential for investigating hominin adaptations to environmental variability during the Middle Pleistocene. However, there is no palaeobotanical data to examine the relationship between vegetation and hominin activities in the paleo-lake Manyara and Isimila landscape. My specific aims are to: 1. Reconstruct the vegetation structure at the upper Manyara Beds through time. 2. Reconstruct the paleovegetation of Isimila Beds. 3. Reconstruct hominin miro-habitat use at the Isimila site. Bundala (2024) documented varied habitats at the lower Manyara Beds comprised of palms, woody dicots, woody and herbaceous dicots, forest indicators, Commelinaceae, sedge, aquatic monocots, and dominance of C4 grasslands. Kleindienst et al. (2023) detected grass phytoliths from Sands 3 sediments in their 1970s research. However, a detailed quantitative account is required to conduct full vegetation reconstructions at Isimila and the upper Manyara Beds. The results will, therefore, shed light on the wide range of habitats occupied by the Acheulean-making hominins during the critical environmental fluctuations of the Middle Pleistocene